The Hill: Collecting Hawthorn yamadori for bonsai Part Two. Potting up the new bonsai.

In late January I went up into the hills here in the south-east of the UK and collected an old hawthorn that I had initially found in the summer of 2019.
Part Two shows the potting-up of the tree once I had returned to my garden; preparing the roots, tips on soil-mixes for deciduous yamadori and containers to use.
I hope you enjoy the final result!
For more videos, please hit subscribe.
For bonsai information please see my website bonsai4me.com
For more yamadori and how to develop them, please see my books Bonsai Inspirations 1+2 at bonsai4me.com/s...

[@AndyWard-r3k]

Beautiful tree, absolutely love Hawthorns 😮❤

[@mateuszbosiacki862]

PERFECT TREE! IM JELEOUS

[@josephascroft4774]

Really enjoyed this video and found it really helpful as I’ve just received an old hawthorn tree that my friend dug up whilst working on a building site

[@TomTomTomTom538]

Legend, please more videos, can't get enough

[@bonsai4me2]

Tom Tom thank you appreciated. While folks are watching it’s worth spending the hours putting them together. Next one out by the end of the week

[@nachoupe]

Excelente Harry

[@syltis1994]

Excellent video.

[@Vaichuck]

OMG I dream about collecting a hawthorns with such a great roots.

[@strafe.]

Nice job. Do you have an update regarding the watering/not watering in, that you mentioned?

[@ShohelDjayaBonsai]

Nice video.. thanks for sharing

[@gabrielschneider1344]

Hey Harry, This one is a really great Piece. Hawthorn is such a lovely Material. Great Rootsystem and stunning Nebari. Hope it will have a good growth in Spring and will make it. This peace does have a bright Future. Cheers

[@bonsai4me2]

Gabriel Schneider thank you! Yes, I’m hoping this will bounce back!

[@thegreenmanalishiyamadori371]

Wow Harry...😳😳😳 Greetz from Germony🙋🏻‍♂️

[@JohnnyGreenroom]

Your voice does it for me on these flicks mate 😂 catch up in Belgium 👍🏼

[@bonsai4me2]

JJ Henters dont even go there! See you in Belgium. I just won’t talk to you

[@Tiger313NL]

This was very interesting indeed. Got my eyes on a deciduous azalea in a hedge that's been there for about 50 years. The area is being redeveloped and I have permission to get it out, but no sooner than when the fences are being put up around the construction site. So it's going to have to happen quickly, or the bulldozers will crush it, and no idea at what time of the year they'll start yet.

[@themotivatedgardenergarden7822]

Great video from the supremo👍👍👍

[@83hersh83]

Hi, thanks for sharing, will the black bag methods work with birch also. Collected here on 20.12.22 in the UK. What is aftercare? Please

[@maximmilian7679]

Hello, very good yamadori , how it feel in spring? Isit wake up well?

[@nickfleming6530]

Hi Harry! Love your videos. I’m in NZ and the hawthorn collecting season is finishing. On a tree about 5% of hawthorn leaves have unfolded from their buds - do you think I should hold off my dig until next season? Or can I continue until more leaves have unfolded? Cheers Nick

[@Physicate]

Harry! Thanks for all your videos, we all appreciate them very much. I got a question: "Letting the soilmix cook" over a couple of months, are just just mixing the substrates and leaving it be?

[@bonsai4me2]

Physicate yes, literally! I add Cannazym and a little soil from my collecting site just to increase the health of the soil even more

[@Synplicity]

Hi Harry, what would you do soil-wise when it comes to re-potting a few years later? I have a yamadori hawthorn I bought from a South Wales collector which has spent (coming up to) 3 seasons in its current pot. It has thrown out a lot of good growth up top, but I haven't checked the roots as I don't want to disturb it at the moment. If I need to repot, what soil mix could you recommend please?

[@zachariasbjorngren1552]

Great video, so happy I discovered your channel. Can you explain the purpose of the activated charcoal in the soil mix?

[@alessandromezzavilla9487]

Hello harry, first and foremost thanks for the video. I have a silly question: I looked into most of your collecting guides, as I want to collect an hawthorn myself, and here you say not to use root hormone. However, in your blog you said you mix and apply rhizotonic to your soil and to your yamadori. In your opinion should I use it or not? Thanks!

[@bonsai4me2]

Use Rhizotonic but don’t apply the rooting hormone powder that is intended for taking cuttings

[@alessandromezzavilla9487]

@@bonsai4me2 ok, sorry if I mismatched the two! Thanks for your time harry

[@yrybakov]

Hello, does the same Soil Mix work good for conifers such as Pine or Larch? Thank you.

[@christiancruz3962]

Can you explain why you shouldn’t use rooting hormone on the tree? And is this only for yamadori or can I use this on a regular repotting?

[@bonsai4me2]

Christian Cruz rooting hormone is used to motivate top growth to start issuing adventitious roots. Applying it to vegetative growth (roots) that already issue adventitious roots is not necessary and can have the reverse effects. So don’t use at all on roots

[@devinm.2398]

Harry, how does a tree survive to become a bonsai after its food source, (branches with leaves), are cut off?

[@TheCattwooduk]

This is very useful information I've been after! I have a decent amount of Hawthorn growing in very similar conditions to yours which I have access to - Collected 2 so far in the last 3 years and one made it, the other didn't and I couldn't be sure why as the one which survived had way less care taken during collection and afterwards. I've held off collecting others I've tagged for now but this really helps so thank you. I've also just got some heating cable and a thermostat ready to set up to provide underheating while it's bagged in the greenhouse. I didn't do this before and I'm assuming moisture loss was the key failure. Hopefully this will allow me to get a couple of nice big ones in the next couple of weeks! Do you ever collect oaks? In the area of hawthorns there are also lots of good sized oaks which have had similar treatment from local wildlife and produced ready-made yamadori. I'm thinking applying the same methods as this should give good results also? Thanks

[@bonsai4me2]

TheCattwooduk best of luck with the hawthorn! Oaks can be a little touchy and will reject the main trunk in favour of suckers if you’re not careful. They are far better being collected in leaf while still active after the heat of summer has passed, so in September and October.

[@TheCattwooduk]

@@bonsai4me2 thank you for your reply. Do you know if it's possible to layer oaks? I can't find any information anywhere regarding the species!

[@bonsai4me2]

TheCattwooduk I’ve read people saying they’ve done it, but I’d say it’s a very difficult species to airlayer

[@richt4336]

Can we have an update please on this thanks

[@bonsai4me2]

Good idea. The tree has done really well and has held its new leaves all year and is just entering autumn colours. I will try to do a video or at very least post some update images on social media

[@kilthsenarc]

Sir,you mentioned that you "cooked"your soil mix as opposed to using sterile substrate, I have a lot of repotting come spring. I also live in UK. Would you recommend that I make my soil mix now and leave it to cook for a wee while?

[@bonsai4me2]

Paul Ballantine although by no means essential, having aged soil is advantageous particularly when collecting or bare rooting a tree. And it can’t do any harm whatsoever.

[@benbishop1131]

I rarely hear bonsai experts mention mycelium. If you haven't already done a video on what mycelium is and why it's beneficial I'd like to request that. Great videos.

[@bonsai4me2]

Ben Bishop I’m surprised Ben, mycelium/mycorrhizae in the soil is absolutely essential for all coniferous species and some deciduous species. Without it the roots literally can’t function and this shapes how we treat the roots when repotting etc

[@jimjam6598]

What makes you say that it is 100 years old?

[@bonsai4me2]

jim jam counting off the annual rings where they are chopped

[@chriswillette8743]

Hey Harry-awesome video once again and very informational as always. I’m curious as to how you go about removing those big structural roots over time and acquiring only fine feeder roots in your pot. Thanks again friend!

[@bonsai4me2]

Chris Willette Bonsai thank you. The heavy roots can be cut back slowly over each repotting, cutting them back to a secondary root emerging closer to the trunk. That said, with hawthorn of this age specifically, it is better to allow them to become rootbound and I will only remove roots in order to fit the tree into a bonsai pot one day

[@chriswillette8743]

Harry Harrington great thanks for the reply! Is the reason you allow to it to be rootbound because it is so old and you don’t want long immature growth?

[@bonsai4me2]

Chris Willette Bonsai yes, my hawthorn that’s are established as bonsai get repotted every 10-15 years

[@briankavanagh7191]

Superb information for us all, just one question how you going to lift it hahahaha.

[@bonsai4me2]

Brian Kavanagh 😁 it took 2 of us to move it after repotting!

[@briankavanagh7191]

Harry i thought to myself "Harry goes trekking up mountains with trees on his back but this might be a bit to much" looking good please update us on its progress👍